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Sometimes, First Place is just Better!

Didn't seem all that long ago that we're bribing Ethan to ditch his training wheels. Why am I ever surprised anyway? This kid has far excelled in everything he does!

Still, when we entered him into his first bike race, we knew we had a lot of work to do as far as teaching him good sportsmanship.

"It's not always all about winning."

"Always do your best and have fun."

We try to focus on making sure he has fun, above all else. But really, kids know the difference between winning and losing, regardless of whether or not there's a scorekeeper or medals or trophies. I've learned that ranking achievement is something they pick up on their own, and as parents, the best we could do is try to help them not be discouraged whenever they do end up on the losing end. I am a firm believer that sometimes, it's in losing that we learn the biggest lesson, and failing is what propels the greatest to succeed.

As my Tito Jess would say, "Try and try until you succeed!" :)


In Ethan's eyes, of course, things are much simpler than that. Competition is competition. And at 4 years old, he's pretty convinced that you're not a winner unless you cross the line first.

So he did just that this weekend!

This is Ethan BEAMING after he won. His excitement was priceless!

Proudly showing off his medal

Family support is very important to us and there sure is no shortage of that when it comes to cheering on Ethan!

Ethan's biggest cheerleaders!

THIS IS MY FAVORITE SHOT: Ethan telling the baby all about him winning the race!

Brentwood Grand Prix

I haven't posted much of Mike's past few races... actually, I haven't posted much of anything lately. We've gone to a wedding, the circus, the waterpark, Ethan's summer school shananigans, Mike's ongoing races and all the other life responsibilities that happen inbetween... I've got tons of photos I want to share, so many things I want to write about, nuances to bitch about, but every time I start, I get bogged down with writer's block. I even downloaded a blogger app on my phone, and still I can't find the juices to write any one-liners!

In the famous words of my little Ethan........... Barnacles!

But I have to try.

And I suppose now's a better time than ever to break the spell because I want to share about Mike and Ethan's race at Brentwood last Sunday.

Mike's cycling season this year is winding down. With Tour de France over with and with only a handful of races left on the calendar, Mike has really vamped up his training and have even finished 12th in Ontario last month.

Sunday's race started out strong, he stayed out front for the most part, while half of the races started peeling off one by one. It was harder this time to separate Mike from the "peloton" (main pack) because of his spankin' new jersey -- IDIOT me, who took charge of packing the overnight bag, somehow LEFT out his jersey at home. So we had to dash (literally breaking the law) the night before to get to the nearest Performance Bike before they closed so he could buy a new jersey. $150 worh of legit-looking Fuji jersey to match his Fuji bike later, I was out of the doghouse and he was a happy camper.

But I digress....

5 laps before the end of the race, Mike was apparently involved in a crash (his first of the season) and lost a minute so he fell back. I'm glad the officials didn't decide to pull him off that close to the end... but you could see the disappointment in his face when he fnally crossed the finish line 38th out of 70. If it weren't for the wreck, I can honestly say he could've finished top 10. He had started out so strong, and could've easily stayed towards the front if he hadn't gotten caught in the accident. I always hear about stories of people crashing and breaking their collar bones and needing surgeries done, so I constantly worry about him when he's racing with 50 other guys and they ride so close to each other going 30 mph. So I'm just glad he was ok!


And then it was Ethan's turn.

Ethan's First Consent Form

Mike had to do some convincing, but eventually, I suppose I knew (despite all the mommy-worries) that Ethan would handle himself just fine against the 8 year olds (he was in the boys 5-8 category). I did all I could do. I brought his elbow and knee pads, which he refused to wear after seeing no one else had them on. I made sure he was comfortable. I had bandaids in my purse. I strategically placed Mike, Sissy, my mom and my dad in increments from start to finish so we could all keep tabs on him. I was a worry-wart.

But Ethan, on the contrary, was ecstatic. It was his first race WITHOUT training wheels... and he wanted to be JUST LIKE DADDY. He just learned to ride on two wheels weeks ago, and we tried to practice as much as we could. You could tell he was a little scared, but I was tearfully impressed by how he tried to be strong. He wanted to be one with the big boys. You couldn't even tell he was the youngest one there (by 6 months at least). He did ask not be up front because he still wasn't 100% with the take-off. I gave him a kiss and he looked up at me with those "I can do it mom!" looks and I couldn't be more proud!!!! With that, I ran to wait for him at the finish line..... but of course, as luck would have it, there were some privileged parents who got to stay on the course to take pictures of their kids and run with their kids. So I didn't really get any great shots of Ethan crossing the line, but I did meet him towards the end, and surprisingly, he was just proud of himself as we were despite not finishing first.

My proud baby!

This will definitely not be his last!!


Of course, my sister, my mom and my dad all came out to support Mike and Ethan so it was a family affair. My mom even got Ethan his first racing jersey! A little foreshadowing maybe? UCLA is a great school that Ethan can go to for free :)


More pics!

Who Needs an Abacus When You Got Jenga!

I'm not exactly sure when Ethan decided that he loves Math (clearly not MY strong suite), but it's amazing, at 4, how strong his arithmetic skills are. It's about the only subject he's almost always interested in.

Last night, after working with him on writing his full name, I promised I would let him play on "dot com disney" (he likes to play the games on playhousedisney.com) if he would practice writing his numbers. Sure enough, by the time he got to 4, he had already lost interest despite the "reward". He eventually finished it and I thought he would be done with lessons for the rest of the night when Mike strolled in with a challenge.

He wrote this on Ethan's paper:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 =

5 + 6 =

7 + 5 =


"I will give you 5 extra minutes on the computer for every problem you solve," he said.

Ethan was surely up for the challenge. And although he could do the math with his fingers, I figured it'd be more fun for him to use the jenga blocks as a manipulative. This fancy term, manipulative, simply means using items with your child as visual aids of the mathematic concepts you are trying to teach.

Too easy....... :)


I ♥ seeing him feel accomplished!

Ethan Learns How to Ride after 2 Lessons!!

5 days ago, we took Ethan's training wheels off for the first time and had to come up with some creative encouragement to convince Ethan to TRY......... just TRY.... riding his bike on two wheels.

Mike and I figured we'd take turns with holding the seat, it was less strain on my back because I'm apparently closer to the ground. It was at least good exercise for us having to run after him up and down the street.

Yesterday, we figured we'd try again.... still got some resistance from Ethan, but we eventually got him on the bike.

And within 10 minutes, he was off by himself!!!!!!!!!!

We couldn't believe it!

The look on my face when I first let go of the seat

Ethan's first ride with daddy

AND........ I'm pretty proud to report....... he learned with no scratches/bruises to boot!

Bye Bye Training Wheels

Everyone has their own fond memory of the first time they learned to ride a bike. Mine was pretty uneventful. No one held my seat. No one gave me pats on the back or high fives (in fact, I distinctly recall being told that "girls are not supposed to ride bikes"). I didn't have training wheels. I didn't even have my own bike. I was 7 years old, spending another summer at my grandma's farm in the province, and I was bored. I learned on my Aunt Tessie's bike (which was obviously too large for me) and I fell more times than I could tolerate. I remember being discouraged... having to jump up to find the seat while trying to pedal forward only to get thrown to the opposite side. I don't remember being scared to get hurt, although I'm sure I earned a few cuts and bruises along the way. I was determined to get on that stupid bike. I eventually learned sometime that summer... and after that, I remember gaining freedom like I'd never experienced before. I would disappear for hours and came back with satisfaction of having been to places I never would've seen by just walking.

Fast forward to 2010. Ethan is now 4 1/2 and we're trying to convince him to ditch the training wheels. Mike finally got them off..... and naturally, Ethan decided he changed his mind and wanted them back on. He whined and whined and whined. We couldn't understand why. He's a big advocate of graduating from baby to "big kid" and we thought he would welcome dissing the training wheels if it meant being one of the big boys.

"I'm scared," he finally reluctantly admitted. "I'm scared I would fall."

Duh Mom! And although I am a secret self-proclaimed superhero, I couldn't promise him he wouldn't get hurt in the process. Instead, we resorted to what every parent (or politician) resorts to during a time of desperation.

BRIBERY.

"If you let me throw away your training wheels, I will buy you......... Lots-o' Bear," Mike said.

(This is one of Ethan's must-haves for the week, it even got on the top 5 of his Christmas List. I asked him why he would want to have the mean bear from Toy Story 3, and he said because he smells like strawberries. If you haven't seen the movie, you won't get it.)

This is Ethan contemplating before taking the offer

After taking it into consideration, Ethan finally agreed. But Mike's negotiating skills apparently need some honing. Because Ethan's conditions included us NEVER LETTING GO and that he could quit after about a MINUTE of trying.

After "encouraging" him to try a little bit longer (in exchange for Cold Stone ice cream), Ethan was a trooper. He needs to work on looking straight ahead. But there were a few moments when I barely held on to the back edge of the seat, and at one point, I even let go. And he would've been fine had he not turned around to check if I was still there...... but it was definitely a proud moment... even if it only lasted a measly few seconds.

So hopefully, we can try again tonight. We need to prep him for a race Mike signed him up for in 2 weeks. :) He has a lot of practicing to do if he wants to be as fast as daddy.... who, by the way, placed 12th last weekend! Go daddy!

Minions

I got to work this morning and realized I've got minions (Despicable Me) stamped on my feet.

This is evidence that a certain 3ft tall minion is back from Ohio......




I am ecstatic I get to be a mom again!

Lollipop Snatcher

Raving in the Backseat

Couldn't help but post this video of Ethan dancing his pants off in the backseat. He literally danced like this for 10 minutes straight!

Crawling Visitor

We had an unexpected crawling visitor last night... otherwise known as Jacob. I can't believe not too long ago, he fit in Ethan's arms perfectly...

Now, he's big enough to sit on Ethan's head!

Despite that, Ethan loves having him around. We can't help but think this will only serve as best practice for whenever he does get a baby brother or sister. He hasn't quite figured out yet how to "play" with him for more than a few minutes at a time since Jacob can't exactly reciprocate the excitement. Every once in a while, you'd hear Ethan "clicking" his tongue like when he tries to lure Bella (our dog).

Of course, you can tell when he starts feeling overlooked when he goes out of his way to get your attention.....

The Lion King Musical

We took Ethan to his first musical, The Lion King, on Saturday in Las Vegas and he loved it.

It was a little on the pricey side, $85 for the seats we got, but got a 30% off military discount, which made it a little less painful. I finally convinced Mike that it could be an early Mother's Day gift. I only wish I could afford the $250 seats dead smack in front, but even where we sat, I thought it was well worth it (except for Mike who thought the Blue Man Group show was better).

Seeing Ethan's reaction to the "real people" singing familiar songs to all of us was a trip. We've seen the movie so many times that we all had the lyrics memorized. At one point, I had to hush Mike from singing "Can you feel the love tonight?" a little too loudly, lol. Ethan took notice of everything on the set: from the bongo drums on the orchestra, to the giraffes on stilts, to people in costumes running up and down the aisles spinning bird props, even to the faint sounds of the jungle in the background during intermission.

The show was about 3 hours long and I love every minute of it. It was even better than what I remember when I first saw it a decade ago at the Pantages theatre. I know Ethan will probably forget about it eventually, but it was an experience I wouldn't have traded for anything! I totally recommend the show 100%! I've seen a few musicals and it is by far my favorite.

Dana Point Grand Prix - Part 1: Ethan's First Bike Race

Ethan's Fan Club

You should see Ethan at around 0:13, he's wearing a huge white shirt (the race shirt) and red helmet towards the middle of the road.

If you notice, the kids that were up front were kids that didn't have their training wheels on and I would venture to say were pushing towards 5. I know this is such a mom-thing to say, but I was a little annoyed that there were some parents who chose to stay on the course when they were clearly told it should only be kids. I was towards the finish line but I knew there were some parents that "got in the way" so Ethan (in spite of being in front) couldn't really go full-throttle from the get-go.

[Click photo to enlarge. You HAVE to see the serious look on Ethan's face!]

I couldn't get great shots from where I was standing either. There was a kid who crashed right in front of me just right before Ethan crossed the finished line (kid was ok).

He was disappointed in the end, and no high-fives or hugs from mommy and daddy, not even the medal that he got (everybody got one) cheered him up from the fact that he didn't "win".

Mike: "That was awesome, Ethan! Do you want to race again?"

Ethan: "No"

Me: "Why now? Didn't you have fun?"

Ethan: "I'm not racing anymore...... because I didn't cross the line first"

His first medal!

Of course, we took turns giving him praises for trying his best, and that he just needs more practice like daddy so he could get better and better. He needs a little bit of work when it comes to "losing" gracefully, I think he's just naturally competitive, but I hope with T-ball will help that a little.

Five on Fridays: Eggheads, Beach Plans and Peer Pressure

1. This is why I love my family.

We can all be eggheads together. There's nothing like spending 45 minutes laughing at each other for making stupid faces inspired by drawn on plastic Easter eggs. It was funny when Ethan started doing it, but even better when the adults started trying to outdo one another.

2. It's another busy weekend for all of us.

No baseball game tomorrow but this weekend is the Dana Point Grand Prix, where Mike will be doing a time trial and another Category 5 race. Here's the preview of the time trial course........ makes me tired just listening to the guy's heavy breathing, lol.

Sunday is a two-fer since Mike is racing in the early morning and Ethan will be "racing" around mid-day. He's in the "4 and under" category so it will be interesting since Ethan's bigger than the average 4 year old. Daddy's gonna be in the start line and of course, mommy will be at the finish line taking pictures! It's only a few feet but I can't wait to see the look on Ethan's face.... he's grown to be very competitive.

3. Talk about peer pressure!

I'm starting to hear it from all angles now... family.... friends..... my dog. I see baby commercials on TV and think they're trying to sell me a baby. When we went to church last Sunday, I asked Ethan what he wanted to pray for after getting the blessing (Communion), and guess what he prayed for. Lately, I've been praying with him before bed and instead of asking for more toys, a pony or a rocket ship..... he asks for a brother.

4. There's light at the end of the tunnel!

We've finally finished building the entertainment center! Gahhh! I thought we would never get that thing finished. Realistically, we probably spent about 8-10 hours on it, but since we could only work on it an hour here and there, it just dragged on forever. It's already been moved to the loft (we kept the pieces separted until it was migrated upstairs), and we still have to put the braces on, do some touch ups and of course.......... O R G A N I Z E. So hopefully, I can post the final photos by the end of this weekend. Hmm....... what to build next! :)


5. He deserves every bit of it.

Enough said.

My Favorite PEEPS

I ran into this idea a while back perusing through random blogs and I can't remember for the life of me the website I got it from so I could link to it.... but I thought it was the cutest thing. And even though I was dead tired last night after having worked all day and spent a few hours (with a round of golf and dinner) with MY two most favorite PEEPS... I decided to make them for Ethan's class for their little Easter party.


It was actually pretty simple. One row of the peeps chicks fits perfectly in a snack size ziploc bag. I took white cardstock, cut out 6 3/4" x 4 1/2", folded in half and stapled it to the top of the bag. Then I glued the topper on covering the staples perfectly. And Voila!

Of course, I got my production line (Mike helped with stuffing the peeps and Ethan put the glue on the toppers) so it didn't take us very long to make. The BEST part of it all was getting the brownie points from Ethan.

"You're so cool Mom. My friends are all going to love this!", he mused.

That made staying up til 11:30 to finish them all worth it.... :)

In case anyone wants to borrow the idea, you're more than welcome to download the PDF (I took the name out).

[Click image to download PDF]

Now, if I can just finish that darn basket, I'd be set!

Uncooperative Model

These days, it's not as easy to get Ethan to look at the camera and smile anymore. And when he does, he often gives me what I call his "fake smile", which is cute in itself, but makes it harder for the photographer (ie. me) to get the more coveted natural look.

Instead, I get this.......

or this......

or this......

Eventually, he cracks and says, "can you tickle me so I won't have a fake smile?", and I get this....

But the best pictures are the pictures I get when he's in his natural element, just being silly. :)

I love how striking his eyes look in this.